Multi-compartment bulk station



June 15, 1965 W. J. SACKETT, SR 3,189,197

MULTI-COMPARTMENT BULK STATION Filed June 6, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1WALTER J. SAGKETL' SR.

INVENTOR wwyw ATTORNEY W. J- SACKETT, SR

MULTI-COMPARTMENT BULK STATION June 15, 1965 Filed June 6, 1961 4Sheets-Sheet 2 WALTER J. SAC/(E77; 8R.

INVENTOR' BY M ATTORNEY 5W8 1965 w. .a. SACKETT. 5w

MULTI-CUMPARTMENT BULK STATION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 led June 6, 1961 WALTERJ. SAG/(E77; SR.

INVENT OR of stored materials on a short-order or ddeddd? Patented done15, 1965 3,189,197 MULTI-CGMPARTMENT BULK STATIGN Walter J. daehett,Sin, Baitirnore, Md, asn gnor to The A. J. Sachett Sons Company,Baltimore, Md, a corporation of Maryland Filed June 6, 1961, her. No.115,203 5 Claims. (Cl. 214-16) This invention relates generally to bulkstorage and selective dispensing units, and more particularly itpertains .to a packaged multi-compartment storage elevator of versatileutility and function.

In the past it has been necessary to obtain blended materials, such asstock feeds and fertilizers from large established mixing plants. Thispractice involves expensive transportation of the final product which isin addition to the costs of transportation of the raw materials.

Costs to the customer are reducedwhere large quantities are involved asin concrete road building by locating the plan at the construction site.The setting up of such a field facility is only economical in cases. oflarge magnitude and rules out lesser agencies such as farmerscooperatives and feed and supply stores.

These types of users cannot afford to set up multiple units includingthe usual unloaders, storage bins, conveyors, weighing stations, andblender machines which make up the usual plant.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bulkstorage station which performs all the functions of a complete blendingplant for mixed materials in one readily set up unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a complete bulk storageunit which dispenses any desired blend a deferred time basis as desired.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an easily erectedreceiving and dispensing station for side track use which receives andstores bulk materials and serves accurately mixed blends witha minimumof handling and with a minimum of personnel.

These and other objects and attendant advantages of this invention willbecome more readily apparent and understood from the followim detailedspecification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a multi-compartment bulk stationincorporating patentable features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bulk station shown in FIG. 1; i

FIG. 3 is an expanded vertical section of a silo portion of the bulkstation; Y

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line i-4- of FIG. 3 showing details ofa valve plate;

FIG. 5 is a detail view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a detail view, looking-downwardly, taken along the line 6-6 ofFIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a detail View, looking upwardly, taken along the line '7--'7of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the details of the drawings as shown in FIG. 1, thebulk station of this invention is designated generally by reference.numeral It). This bulk station 10 is intended to be set up adjacent aconvenient railway spur track consisting of spaced rails 14. Thus,hopper cars 16 can be shunted alongside the bulk station it} to beunloaded into a vertical elevator 20. The elevator 20 is mounted in ashallow pit lined with a steel box 21 so that its receiving chute 18silo 26 which rests in an elevated position on a foot plate 11h atopsupporting columns or structure 29'. A gravity chute 22 extends from thetop of the elevator 24 to a point directly over the axis of the silo 26where it attaches to a bin selector 2d. A foot plate lift is providedwhich supports a truncated cone 3h which communicates with and dependsbeneath the silo 2d.

The silo 26 is demounta'ole, preferably being made of staves .112 boundtogether with hoops 114 while the cone 3% may advantageously be madefrom sheet steel and sectionalized for ease of transportation andset-up.

The silo 26 and the cone 30 are radially divided into a plurality ofcompartments with the lower cone compart ments 32 forming contiguousextensions of the upper silo compartments 28.

As shown best in FIGS. 1 and 3, a tubular mast 74 is positioned axiallywithin the silo 2d and it extends from the top thereof to a valve plate94 attached to the small end of the truncated cone 3d. t

, This mast 74 is divided into an upper column 76 and a lower column ddsecured together by flanges 84 and 88 with nuts and bolts ht the staves112 of the silo 26 as shown best in FIGS. 5,

6, and 7.

Each compartment 32 is provided with a hydraulically operatedcompartment gate 34 mounted on a common radius upon the underside ofvalve plate 94.. A centering cone 38 is positioned directly beneath thisarray of gates 34.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a flange 92 is secured to the center ofthe valve plate 94 by nuts and bolts 95. In addition to forming asupporting base for the column as, this flange 932 performs two otherfunctions, namely that of a shaft journal and of a detent plate.

A lower stub shaft 98 is vertically journalled in the center of thisflange 92, and it rotates a connecting shaft 1% which extends upwardlythrough the mast 74. An upper stub shaft 68 is secured to the upper endof the connecting shaft 1% and it is journalled in and extends through aplate '78 which is attached to the top end of the upper column 76 withgussets The previously mentioned bin selector Z4 is secured to this stubshaft es and it can be rotated by manually positioning a compartmentselector lever 35 attached to the lower stub shaft 98. This lever 36 ispivoted on a hinge pin M2 and its weight urges a latch pin 164 upwardlyin a guide 1% so as to engage in detent fashion one of a series ofspaced latching apertures 1108, 108', or 108 in circular array in theflange 92. i i t The silo 26 is provided inside near its top with a roofsupport ring no on which roof planks 118 are supported. These planks1125 have an over all waterproofing 124 and terminate short of thecenter of the silo 26 to provide a The lower plate 66 and gussets 78 arewelded to the previously mentioned upper stub shaft 68 and thus thebearing assembly 62 can rotate on the plate 78 and be supported by themast 78. A grease fitting '72 and thrust bearing 88 are provided toreduce the friction at the con tact area.

As shown in FIG. 1, a platform for operators of the bulk station isattached to the supporting structure 29. This platform 44 also serves tosupport a weightblender 40 which is disclosed in a copending U.S. patentapplication Serial Number 43,838, new Patent No. 3,091,- 369, entitledWeighing and Mixing Hopper, by Walter J. Sackett, Sr. The weigh-blender40 discharges into a surge hopper 46 of a screw conveyor 48 supportedbeneath the platform 44.

In use, the silo 10 of the bulk station it) is charged with rawmaterials carried from the hopper cars 16 by the conveyor 12 and raisedby the elevator 20 to the chute 22. The operator is able to selectivelydirect the several ma terials into the desired compartments 28 from hisplatform 44 by releasing the detentcd compartment selector lever 36 andthereby positioning the distributing spout 56 relative to one of thecompartments 28.

When a blend of materials is to be delivered to a customer, the operatorOperates the weigh-blender 4-8 and notes the proportion of materials onscales 42 as they are released by the hydraulically operated compartmentgates 34. The weighed and blended product is discharged into the surgehopper 46 and it is delivered by the screw conveyer 48 to bulk trucks 58which may be positioned at optional locations as shown by referencenumerals 5'8 or 50" in FIG. 2.

Should the customer wish to defer delivery of a material blend,provision is made in the bulk station 10 so that the operator can makeup the order in the usual manner and store it in mixed form.

For this purpose, the screw conveyor 48 is provided with a reversibledrive 134 as shown in FIG. 1. The flow of blended material from thesurge hopper 46 is carried in a reversed direction in this case anddischarged through a gate 136 into a chute 1138 which connects with areceiving chute 148 at the lower end of the elevator 20.

The blended material is thence raised to the chute 22 and directed bysuitable positioning of the distributing spout 56 into a funnel 142within one of the compartments 28 of the silo 26.

Attached to this funnel 142 is a bypass chute 144 which is arranged tobe linearily co-extensive with the chute 212. This chute 144 emergesfrom the silo 26 and empties the material into a temporary storagehopper 146. Thus, at this convenience, the customer is able to takedelivery from the hopper gate 148 without interrupting other deliveriesfrom the bulk station 10 at optional bulk truck locations designated byreference locations 50 or 50".

The funnel 142 and chute 144 occupy very little space and do notinterfere with the normal storage use of the compartment 28 throughwhich they pass.

It should be noted that the bulk station 10 as related occupies verylittle space considering the complex function it performs. Further thesimplicity of operation on the bulk station 10 requires a minimum ofpersonnel for efiicient functioning.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

ll. A multi-compartment bulk station type storage tank, comprising,means including a truncated cone having a plurality of verticallyextending compartments radially arranged therein, support structure forsupporting said cone in a downwardly facing elevated position, amulticompartment silo formed of staves bound together with earn? hoopsand mounted on top of said support structure in contiguous relationshipwith said cone, said silo being thereby demountable, selector meansrotably secured to the top of said silo, said selector means having atopmost stationary portion adapted to communicate with material supplymeans and a bottom swivel portion for directing material to a selectedcompartment, means including a hollow mast member positioned along thelongitudinal axis of said storage tank and extending from said selectormeans to the truncated portion of said cone, guide means verticallyarranged on the outer surface of said mast member for positioning wallsdefining said compartments, means including a rotating member locatedbeneath said silo and having a connecting rod passing along the interiorof said mast member to said selector means for operation thereof, andmeans including a compartment gate positioned at the bottom of eachcompartment in said truncated cone for selectively discharging materialfrom desired compartments.

2. The multi-compartment bulk station type storage tank of claim 1, andin addition a shield attached to the swivel portion of said selectormeans and adapted to in terfit with the top of said silo to form arain-proof joint therewith.

3. The multi-compartment bulk station type storage tank of claim 1, andadditionally gravity feed chute means communicating with said bottomswivel portion of said selector means for directing said material to aremote point for storage.

4. The multi-compartment bulk station type storage tank of claim 1, andadditionally guide means vertically arranged on the inner surface ofsaid staves for positioning the outer edges of said walls.

5. A multi-compartment bulk station type storage tank, comprising, meansincluding a truncated cone having a plurality of vertically extendingcompartments radially arranged therein, support structure for supportingsaid cone in a downwardly facing elevated position, a multicompartmentsilo demountably positioned on top of said support structure incontiguous relationship with said cone, selector means rotatably securedto the top of said silo, said selector means having a top-moststationary portion adapted to communicate with material supply means andbottom swivel portion for directing material to a selected compartment,means including a hollow mast member positioned along the longitudinalaxis of said storage tank and extending from said selector means to thetruncated portion of said cone, guide means vertically arranged on theouter surface of said mast member for positioning walls defining saidcompartments, means including a rotating member located beneath saidsilo and having a connecting rod passing along the interior of said mastmember to said selector means for operation thereof, means including acompartment gate positioned at the bottom of each compartment in saidtruncated cone for selectively discharging material from desiredcompartments, and gravity feed chute means communicating with saidbottom swivel portion of said selector means for directing said materialto a remote point for storage.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 371,343 10/87McLennan 214-2 1,542,380 6/25 Foster 21416 1,548,014 7/25 Hetherington214-2 X 1,988,184 1/35 Wolfe 20--1.2 2,048,877 7/36 McCrery 214-22,628,724 2/53 Sackett 214--2 2,867,336 1/59 Soldini 214-2 2,880,8904/59 Stuller 214-2 3,049,248 8/62 Heltzel 214-2 X HUGO O. SCHULZ,Primary Examiner.

MORRIS TEMIN, Examiner.

1. A MULTI-COMPARTMENT BULK STATION TYPE STORAGE TANK, COMPRISING, MEANS INCLUDING A TRUNCATED CONE HAVING A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY EXTENDING COMPARTMENTS RADIALLY ARRANGED THEREIN, SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING SAID CONE IN A DOWNWARDLY FACING ELEVATED POSITION, A MULTICOMPARTMENT SILO FORMED OF STAVES BOUND TOGETHER WITH HOOPS AND MOUNTED ON TOP OF SAID SUPPORT STRUCTURE IN CONTIGUOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID CONE, SAID SILO BEING THEREBY DEMOUNTABLE, SELECTOR MEANS ROTABLY SECURED TO THE TOP OF SAID SILO, SAID SELECTOR MEANS HAVING A TOPMOST STATIONARY PORTION ADAPTED TO COMMUNICATE WITH MATERIAL SUPPLY MEANS AND A BOTTOM SWIVEL PORTION FOR DIRECTING MATERIAL TO A SELECTED COMPARTMENT, MEANS INCLUDING A HOLLOW MAST MEMBER POSITIONED ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID STORAGE TANK AND EXTENDING FROM SAID SELECTOR MEANS TO THE TRUNCATED PORTION OF SAID CONE, GUIDE MEANS VERTICALLY ARRANGED ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID MAST MEMBER FOR POSITIONING WALLS DEFINING SAID COMPARTMENTS, MEANS INCLUDING A ROTATING MEMBER LOCATED BENEATH SAID SILO AND HAVING A CONNECTING ROD PASSING ALONG THE INTERIOR OF SAID MAST MEMBER TO SAID SELECTOR MEANS FOR OPERATION THEREOF, AND MEANS INCLUDING A COMPARTMENT GATE POSITIONED AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH COMPARTMENT IN SAID TRUNCATED CONE FOR SELECTIVELY DISCHARGING MATERIAL FROM DESIRED COMPARTMENTS. 